Rack-actuated propeller toy



Jan. 18, 1966 H. K. BROSS 3,229,416

RACK-ACTUATED PROPELLER TOY Filed March 20, 1964 iNVENTOR HELMUT KARL GROSS BY TMML 9 United States Patent 3,229,416 RACK-ACTUATED PROPELLER TOY Helmut Karl Bross, Altenberg uber Nurnberg, Germany, assignor of fifty percent to Frank T. Johmann, Berkeley Heights, NJ.

. Filed Mar. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 353,744 Claims priority, application Germany, Mar. 20, 1963,

71,216 7 Claims. (Cl. 4675) This invention relates to toys. Particularly, it relates to toys driven by rotating fans or propellers and pulling means for actuating said fans.

In my prior US. patent applications, Serial Nos. 257,- 432, filed February 11, 1963, and 276,754 filed April 30,

1963, I disclosed various toys operated by a child pulling a flexible rack which drove a pinion gear carried by the rotatable drive means, e.g. a propeller, of the toy. The present invention provides a further extension of the invention of said applications whereby a flexible rack can be used to operate two or more rotatable drive means which can be carried by a toy plane, helicopter, etc. The resulting toys are entertaining, relatively simple, easily operated, and they can be inexpensively formed and assembled.

The invention will be further understood by reference to the drawing and following description which includes a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a toy helicopter having two propellers in driving engagement with an actuating rack.

FIGURE 2 is a top view, partly broken and in section, of the toy of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary View, partly in section, further illustrating the guide for the rack.

FIGURE 4 is a top view of a modification of the toy of FIGURES l to 3 showing how the toy can be made in the shape of an airplane.

FIGURE 5 is a top View, broken and partly in section, illustrating a modification of the embodiment of FIG- URES 1 to 4.

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 6--6 of FIGURE 5.

In the embodiment of FIGURES l to 3, the helicopter toy has the fiat banana-shaped body or fuselage 10, integrally defining the outwardly extending hand grip 11 and the two upwardly extending axle stubs 12 and. 12' whose outer ends terminate in cones 13 and 13'. Propellers 14 and 14 having propeller blades 15 and 15 extending between the outer rims 16 and 16' and the hubs 17 and 17', are mounted on axle stubs 12 and 12' for free rotation. The lower portions of hubs 17 and 17' define the pinion gears 18 and 18'. A flexible plastic pulling rack 19, having pulling handle 20, is formed. with the two series of teeth 21 and 21' on opposed faces of the rack. Rack guiding and supporting members 22 and 22', defining channels which support the rack on three sides, extend outwardly from opposite sides of body 10 and guide rack 19 into meshing toothed engagement with pinion gears 18 and 18.

To operate, the rack 19 is threaded into engagement with gears 18 and 18' as shown in the drawings. The child then grasps handle 20 in one hand, while holding body 10 with the other hand at hand grip 11. The child then rapidly pulls handle 20 away from the helicopter body which will cause propellers 14 and 14 to spin in opposite directions (as noted by the arrows in FIGURE 3) as rack 19 is pulled completely through the guide members 22 and 22'.

Once the removable rack 19 is completely free of engagement with the helicopter, the helicopter can be released by the child whereupon it will rise into flight and 3,229,415 Patented Jan. 18, 1966 fly until the momentum stored in the propellers is substantially lost.

By the arrangement shown, both propellers can be simultaneously spun in opposite directions whereby said propellers will tend to balance each other to reduce the tendency for the body 16 to also spin in flight about its vertical axis. By forming helicopter body 10 thin and flat, a light weight is achieved, while the broad area of body 10 encounters wind resistance to turning about its vertical axis.

The toy, including the rack, can be inexpensively molded of plastic, such as polyethylene, or similar slightly resilient plastic. In this Way, the rack 19 will have sufiicient flexibility for it to bend sufliciently to be threaded through both guides 22 and 22'. Yet, once pulled through the toy, the rack 19 will resume a sub stantially straight-line form.

The toy is preferably injection molded of only four pieces, namely the helicopter body 10 including: integral axle stubs 12 and 12 and guides 22 and 22'; the two propellers 14 and 14; and the rack 19. Assembly of the toy is simple and is carried out by simply pressing the propeller hubs 17 and 17, over cones 13 and 13 respectively, until the hub is retained between the bottom 23 and 23 of said cones and the body 10. Bottoms 23 and 23' are slightly larger in diameter than the base of the hubs 17 and 17; however, due to the elastic nature of said hubs, said hubs will expand outwardly enough to allow passage of said cones through said hubs during assembly and will then resume their normal shape whereby said hubs are retained on their axle stubs about which they are freely rotatable. This assembly can be carried out by the consumer, thus allowing the toy unit to be packaged unassembled and flat, thereby reducing the bulk of the toy for storage and shipment.

FIGURE 4 represents a modification of the embodiment of FIGURES 1 to 3 in that as the body is in the form of an airplane having fuselage 124 and tail 125, the other parts being the same as in FIGURES 1 to 3.

FIGURES 5 and 6 represent another modification of the embodiments of FIGURES 1 to 4, which modification permits spinning both propellers at about the same speed. In this manner, the oppositely spinning propellers completely balance each other. This is particularly desirable to achieve a straightline flight, e.g. as is desirable with the airplane of FIGURE 4. Otherwise, if one air-, plane propeller spins faster, or for a longer length of time, than the other propeller while in free flight, the airplane will fly in circles.

Specifically in FIGURES 5 and 6, axle stubs 212 and 212', integral with flat body 210, support pinion drive gears 21S and 218' which are opposite the toothed guide idler gears 224 and 224'. The mounting of these idler gears is illustrated in FIGURE 6, where idler gear 224 is freely rotatable on the shaft 225 molded integrally with rib 226 projecting transversely from body 210. A pin, having the head 227, has the shank 228 which is held fixed by frictional engagement within a blind bore 229 in shaft 225. The circular head 227 overlaps shaft 225 so that the edge of head 227 acts as a guide for rack 219 (as shown in FIGURE 6). The rack 219 is formed with a row of teeth 221 over its entire length and with a row of teeth 221 over only part of its length. The section 229 is bare of teeth, and has a length corresponding to the distance between pinion drive gears 218 and 218'.

To operate, rack 219 is inserted between the idler and drive gears as shown in FIGURES 5 and 6, and is then rapidly pulled outwardly through said gears. Because of the bare section 229 of the rack, both pinion drive gears 218 and 218' will be rotated an equal number of times while in meshing driving engagement with said rack 219. Thus, the propellers attached to said drive gears will be spinning in opposite direction but at about the same speed so as to balance the torque of each other.

The rack and the meshing pinion drive gear can take forms other than those specifically illustrated herein. For example, forms such as those illustrated in FIG- URES 26 to 31 of my copending US. patent application Serial No. 276,754 filed April 30, 1963, which figures and accompanying description are hereby incorporated by reference.

I claim:

1. A toy comprising a body, a pair of propellers in substantially the same plane and spaced from each other carried by said body for rotation thereon, said propellers including hubs defining pinion drive gears, a flexible plastic rack defining a first and second series of teeth on different faces of said track and having a pulling handle at one end, said rack being engageable with said pinion gears, and a pair of rack supporting and guide means defined by said body on opposite sides of said body and proximate said gears for supporting and guiding said rack into meshing engagement with said gears upon insertion of said rack between said pinion drive gears and said guide means, whereupon rapid pulling of said rack by means of said handle through said guide means will spin said pinion gears and their propellers in opposite directions.

2. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said rack supporting and guide members are fixed members integral with said body and said rack is slidingly engageable with said members.

3. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said rack supporting and guide members include idler gears having teeth which are meshingly engageable with the teeth of said rack.

4. A toy according to claim 3, wherein said second series of teeth is shorter than said first series of teeth by a distance about equal to the distance between said pinion drive gears.

5. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said body is in the form of a banana-shaped helicopter.

6. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said body is in the form of an airplane including a fuselage and wings, wherein said propellers are mounted on said Wings on 0pposite sides of said fuselage.

7. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said body is flat and has axle stubs molded integrally with said body, said stubs extending past an edge of said body and adapted for rotatably supporting said propeller hubs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 755,446 3/ 1904 Butcher 4667 X 2,642,698 6/1953 Fishburne 4675 X 2,781,989 2/1957 Hagood et al.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,153,306 8/1936 Germany.

331,660 7/1930 Great Britain.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS I. BOVASSO, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A TOY COMPRISING A BODY, A PAIR OF PROPELLERS IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME PLANE AND SPACED FROM EACH OTHER CARRIED BY SAID BODY FOR ROTATION THEREON, SAID PROPELLERS INCLUDING HUBS DEFINING PINION DRIVE GEARS, A FLEXIBLE PLASTIC RACK DEFINING A FIRST AND SECOND SERIES OF TEETH ON DIFFERENT FACES OF SAID TRACK AND HAVING A PULLING HANDLE AT ONE END, SAID RACK BEING ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID PINION GEARS, AND A PAIR OF RACK SUPPORTING AND GUIDE MEANS DEFINED BY SAID BODY ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BODY AND PROXIMATE SAID GEARS FOR SUPPORTING AND GUIDING SAID RACK INTO MESHING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID GEARS UPON INSERTION OF SAID RACK BETWEEN SAID PINION DRIVE GEARS AND SAID GUIDE MEANS, WHEREUPON RAPID PULLING OF SAID RACK BY MEANS OF SAID HANDLE THROUGH SAID GUIDE MEANS WILL SPIN SAID PINION GEARS AND THEIR PROPELLERS IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. 